Ready Or Not Here I Come

1st Sunday in Advent

Luke 21: 25-36

Sermon

"Ready or Not -- Here I Come"

Luke 21

25* “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

26* men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

27* And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28* Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29* And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees;

30 as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.

31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place.

33* Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

34* “But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare;

35* for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth.

36* But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.”RSV

Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

An elderly man sat on a park bench one afternoon late in the fall. The air was cold, but he had been shopping on foot for 2 hours, ached, he needed to put down his parcels and rest a little before heading for home. He was never prone to feel sorry for himself, but he felt a loneliness in the cold busts of wind and the thoughts of returning to his now empty house did not excite him. He stared a this large, round hands as he worked them back and forth between his keens.

Suddenly a smaller hand, pink and chubby, was placed on top of his own. He jerked his head back and said, "hi-yah" in a bit of a raspy voice.

Then he got to his feet, took the child by the hand and let it gently back to its mother who stood smiling just a few paces away.

"Thank you," the mother said, ’He has just learned to walk and has to race over and greet everyone."

The man smiled, nodded, then hefted his packages and started for home. The ache was gone now. So was the loneliness. Memories of a chubby hand and a grinning face warmed hims. And just a few minutes before, he had possess no idea of how close he was to this particular experience of joy."

That story reminds me of my grandson. He loves to reach out to those around him. And since I am in a wheelchair, he is not afraid of people who he sees in a wheelchair, and goes up to them and say hi.

The story of the man and the little boy, and my grandson tells us that something wonderful is coming into this world. during this season of Advent, we wait, we hope, get ready for the Christ child who like that little boy will bring a measure of joy and happiness into this world.

In our gospel lesson this morning, Jesus is reminding us that his kingdom is coming into this world. he says:

25* “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

26* men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

27* And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

The son of man is coming into the world. Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming at the end of time. He is coming as a babe born in the manger. He is coming to us through the word and sacraments. He is coming!

Jesus tells us to prepare. During this season of Advent, we are to prepare for the coming of Jesus. And how do we prepare, we repent. Jesus tells us to watch, to wait for He is coming. Coming this Christmas and coming again at the end of time to redeem the whole world.